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But the program still had a connection with the championship squad.

Paced by Austin Wenzlaff's individual championship at 135 pounds, Frederick County's Tuscarora held off a strong field to win the title with 165 points, edging second-place Glenelg and South County (Va.), who finished with 160 points. Georgetown Prep (154) and Liberty (123) round out the top five.

So what's the connection? Tuscarora is guided by second-year coach T.J. Salb, a former wrestler at Damascus, who captured a state title at 145 pounds and compiled a 37-3 record as a senior during the 1999-2000 season. He placed second in the county, region and state tournaments as a junior to Sherwood's Frank Edwards, who finished his career with three straight state crowns.

"Our goal was to finish in the top three," said Salb, whose team finished 12th a year ago with just four wrestlers reaching the second day of competition. "Coming to Damascus, we had something to prove to everybody. We had something to prove to ourselves. We had to prove we deserved to be here and that we can wrestle with the top teams."

Salb's return victory became possible when Wenzlaff (12-2) scored a 2-0 win against Georgetown Prep's Eric Fessell (11-5) at 135 pounds. The championship then became a reality for Tuscarora when Liberty's Jeff Shea scored a 5-1 win against South County's John Fitzgerald at 145 pounds. Salb paced back and forth throughout that match, looking as anxious as a young child waiting to open his presents Christmas morning.

"This means a lot for our school in general," Salb said. "We've never won a tournament. We've been second in our own tournament twice. For the school and the kids and the coaches, this is a really big step for us as a program."

Things did not go quite as well overall for Montgomery County's seven entrants, who combined for three individual crowns and had three teams place in the top 10.

Besides Georgetown Prep, Wootton (103) placed eighth while Landon (94.5) took ninth. Good Counsel (89), Damascus (74.5), Churchill (65.5) and Bullis (58) finished 11th, 13th, 14th and 15th, respectively.

Georgetown Prep won two of the county's three individual championships. Billy Gribbin (160) and Junior Monzey (189) took titles, while Ferrell and Giancarlo Zerega (171) reached the final round.

Gribbin (14-4), a key member of the school's football team, scored a 13-5 major decision against Glenelg's Billy Kuczarski (7-5) with five takedowns.

"I knew that he rolled a lot [on the bottom] so my coaches told me to take him down as much as I could and avoid riding him a little bit," said Gribbin, who will play lacrosse at Penn State next year. "It means a lot. I'm excited."

Monzey, also a football player, worked a 3-2 decision against a very familiar foe in Landon's Cullen Cassidy. Monzey (18-2) put the match away with an early reversal in the third period.

The pair hooked up three times a year ago, with Monzey capturing the last two, including a 9-4 win at 171 pounds at the Interstate Athletic Conference championships. The pair could square off a handful of times more this season.

"I was thinking about that too," said Monzey. "When I wrestled him last year, it was tough to take him down. We were at 171 last year and now at 189 pounds, so I was thinking he would be way heavier than me but he's not. I think they told me he was sick last week so I decided to rough him up a little bit to see if he would get tired, wear him out."

Wootton heavyweight Kevin Mrohs (11-2) secured the county's other title, working a 5-3 decision against Liberty's Dan Duvall (6-3). Mrohs worked a takedown with 15 seconds left in the second period to take a 3-1 lead. He then put the match away with another takedown with 42 seconds remaining in the match.

"He was tough," said Mrohs, who returned to action this year after taking last winter off to better prepare for the recently completed football season. "He was bigger than me, stronger than me. I just wrestled smart and used my quickness to get around him when I could."

Team standings (Top 5 and other county entrants)

Tuscarora 165; 2(tie). Glenelg 160, South County 160; 4. Georgetown Prep 154; 5. Liberty 123; 8. Wootton 103; 9. Landon 94.5; 11. Good Counsel 89; 13. Damascus 74.5; 14. Churchill 65.5; 15. Bullis 58.